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About the BookAbout the Author

“Allah! Allah! What days those were when we had the late Maulvi Nazir Ahmad Sahib with us…” With these words, Mirza Farhatullah Beg takes the reader through the bylanes of old Delhi from Churiwalan, through Hauz Kazi and Khari Baoli to Gali Batashan Wali to the home of his tutor-a doyen of Urdu prose and one of the pioneers of modern fiction in Urdu. In a narrative that is as funny as it is respectful, there emerges an eloquent and evocative portrait that honestly captures the relationship between an erudite tutor and his loving and impudent pupil. Rich in historical detail, the work also records eye witness anecdotal accounts of the Mutiny of 1857 and paints a vivid picture of a fading world.

Mirza Farhatullah Beg (1883-1947) of Delhi was a distinguished humourist. His essays are marked by their richness of imagination and informality of style. His pen-portraits are lively and sharp in characterisation. His language represents one of the best specimens of Urdu as spoken in Dehli.

Mohammed Zakir was born in 1932 in Delhi and educated at St. Stephens’s College, Sri Ram College of Commerce and Delhi College, now known as Zakir Husain College, Delhi University. He retired as Professor of Urdu after four decades of teaching at the Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi. His main interests have been translation, literary criticism and Urdu linguistics. He lives in Delhi.